Clash of Worlds
by Vampy McEmoboy
Summary: Prologue: Four years after the destruction of Meteor, the FFVII group are looking to settle down. Similarly, in a parallel universe, seven years after the demise of Ultimecia our heroes from FFVIII would give anything to have a normal life. When a mistake
1. FFVIII

**Clash of Worlds**

Author's Note: Well, this is a re-write of a fic I wrote a long time ago. I liked the fic at the time, and I still love the general idea behind it (I'm such a romantic, harhar) but the writing is that of a fourteen year old (which I was at the time, explains a lot). The original is about thirty pages long but this will be longer than that, because much of the stuff that happens in the original goes by waaay too fast. So, here you are. –Josie

Prologue: Four years after the destruction of Meteor, the FFVII group are looking to settle down. Similarly, in a parallel universe, seven years after the demise of Ultimecia our heroes from FFVIII would give anything to have a normal life. When a mistake causes their worlds to collide, will they find more than they expected from each other?

Zell Dincht bounced around the laboratory, doing his bi-monthly check-up on the mysterious Dr. Odine. Zell loved volunteering for these visits, as he was a great fan of all the doctor's work. However, the check-ups had been ordered by Squall himself because at times in the past Odine had been up to no good. Laguna permitted the arrangement in order to stop further experiments like the one on Ellone.

On this occasion, Quistis Trepe, Squall Leonhart, Rinoa Heartilly, Irvine Kinneas and Selphie Tilmitt had all come with him. Usually only two of them came, but the girls made the excuse of going shopping. Selphie had flirted Irvine into submission and Rinoa had flat-out told Squall that he was coming if the rest of them were.

They all enjoyed positions at Balamb Garden. Selphie still organised the Garden Festival, and Squall was still Commander. Rinoa had refused to become a SeeD in case she had to fight for someone else's morals, but had agreed to be Cid's secretary. Quistis once again took general tutorials and Zell coached many cadets in the fighting arts.

Since it was Zell who most often came on these visits, it was only natural that he was the first to notice the newest arrival to the lab. A large silver machine dominated one corner – something that had the outward appearance of an elevator. Odine was delivering his usual "eet's all legal" diatribe to the crew before Zell's curiosity outweighed his politeness and he interrupted the doctor.

"What's the new thing over there?" Zell asked, pointing so that no one would miss what he was asking about. Not that it was particularly easy to miss, but Zell liked to be sure. Odine instantly reacted with an expression of delight as he usually did when asked about a new invention.

"Zat! Zat iz a new invention – much talked ov but only created by me!" Odine's eyes became distracted and soon he was fiddling with a spanner around the machine.

"Uh, what does it do?" Rinoa was the first to ask. She wasn't always the bubbly and vivacious girl she'd appeared when they first met her since the encounter with the Sorceresses, but she was still far from timid.

"Ah! Ov course, ov course. All in good time, my dear," Odine flipped a hand at her, fiddling some more with the wires at the back of the object. Sparks flew and he jumped back, but continued after a second of recovery.

"Odine…" Quistis said warningly.

"All right, zen, Miss Trepe, because you ask so nicely," he responded, "eet eez a time maschine. Ze first to be invented, and by me!"

She ignored the sarcasm in the beginning part of his sentence and was about to speak again when Selphie's eyes widened and she jumped up and down.

"That's so cool!" She and Zell jumped over next to it, staring in wonder. Rinoa walked over more calmly, a warning on her lips. Sparks flew once again behind the machine and before Quistis had time to blink the three had disappeared.

Once they got over the initial shock, Quistis, Squall and Irvine looked at one another, and then the doctor.

"But, ah, eet still needs a leetle bit of tweeking."


	2. FFVII

Tifa made her way to Yuffie's birthday party, cursing her decision to wear heels. She had delayed leaving because of her favourite television show, and by the time she realised that she would be late, she already was. Still, she hurried as fast as she could in the cursed heels, hoping that she wouldn't be the last to arrive. Yuffie only lived a few minutes walk away, after all. However, the combination of the fact that she was already twenty minutes late and not able to walk as fast as she usually did meant that she didn't arrive until quarter past seven – half an hour after her designated time.

Yuffie opened the door to her happily, scolding her only slightly for being late. She adored her present – a beautifully made gold watch – and took Tifa through to the dining room. Tifa was embarrassed to see that everyone else was already there, seated and waiting for her, but she overcame it quickly and joined in the conversation.

Barret greeted her with a handshake, as did Cloud, Vincent and Reeve. Red XIII sat in the only place that didn't have cutlery, with Cid and Shera to his left. Lord Godo sat next to his daughter, who had seated Tifa between herself and Vincent. Yuffie urged them through their meal, obviously impatient to tell them something.

"Well, now that you've finally finished eating," she said with a smile to Shera, who'd been the last to finish her meal, "I have an announcement to make."

"Get on with it then, Yuffie!" Tifa laughed.

"I know of a way to get Aeris back."

The effect of this upon all those at the table was electrifying. Shera was the least effected, probably because she had never known the girl. Vincent and Red XIII remained calmly composed, appearing only interested and perhaps slightly surprised. If Tifa had been holding anything she would have dropped it instantly, as would Cloud. His eyes had widened in shock, along with Barret's. The first thing that Cid did was yell "HOLY FUCK!" and reach for a cigarette. Shera was too slow to reprimand him. Barret reacted much the same but drained his wineglass instead.

Eventually Vincent asked the obvious question. "How?"

"With a time machine, of course," Yuffie smirked. "It's so simple that I'm surprised none of you thought of it before."

"I don't think that you fully grasp what you are suggesting we mess with, Yuffie," Red XIII advised. "If we start playing around with the parameters of the time-space continuum the ramifications could be potentially disastrous."

"But it was such a good idea," Yuffie complained. "I even had the time machine built."

"You… built a time machine?" Red XIII questioned, clearly surprised.

"Of course. Otherwise I couldn't use it, could I?" Yuffie seemed intent on sulking, robbed of her chance for glory. Finally Cloud spoke up.

"Let's do it!"

Tifa rolled her eyes at the statement. She missed Aeris as much as everyone else did, but Cloud took it to extremes sometimes. He was clearly blinded by her beauty. Tifa sighed. She'd given up on Cloud long ago, but still harboured small feelings for him. Most of the time she was content with his friendship, but it was times like these she wished it could be otherwise. She hated being reminded of her old 'rival'.

Cloud had grabbed her and Yuffie, seemingly intent on taking apart the house until he found the time machine. Yuffie eventually dragged him to the right place and he jumped in. She set the coordinates and soon they were whizzing through time and space to the place where Aeris had met her end.

"Stay here!" Tifa warned the other two. "If you see yourselves, you'll go crazy. Or they will. Either way, you can't risk it."

"Enough talking!" Cloud snapped. "Go!"

He pushed her out and she ran until she thought her lungs would burst, arriving to see Sephiroth descending from the skies. All coherent thought left her and she heard a voice shout. "Aeris! Move!"

Aeris had met Cloud's eyes in that moment, but she instinctively dodged and Sephiroth's blade bounced off the marble. Tifa signalled Aeris to her as Sephiroth wavered and disappeared, leaving the others to fight off JENOVA. They ran to the time machine together, Aeris looking thoroughly confused.

When they jumped inside the machine, Aeris demanded an explanation. "What is this? And what are you two doing here? I just saw you round there…"

"We've come from the future to save you. Except that we need to go somewhere else first," Tifa explained. Cloud looked at her, now also confused.

"What are you talking about, Tifa?" Yuffie also seemed rather confused.

"She needs to use the Lifestream and Holy to fight off Meteor, doesn't she?"

"Oh, right, I forgot about that." Cloud turned to Yuffie. "Set the coordinates for Meteor's arrival."

She did so and they watched Meteor descend on Midgar. Tifa glimpsed the Highwind and saw the streams of Holy failing to fight off Meteor. The Materia in Aeris's hair was glowing and Aeris knew automatically what she had to do. She began glowing green and they backed away from her. Her eyes closed and she floated in the air, arms outstretched and then brought together as she bowed her head on to them. She lifted her head, eyes now open, and smiled. She came down lightly, and then turned to the others.

"It is done. Can we go now?" Her tone was a trifle plaintive, especially since she'd just saved the world. Yuffie broke the atmosphere with a laugh of relief, and soon they were all laughing.

This was how they arrived home, laughing somewhat hysterically. The others stared at them in shock, until Barret leapt up and enfolded Aeris in a large bear hug. Tifa stepped out of the way; glad that Aeris was receiving the welcome she deserved after the years they'd been convinced they'd never see her again. Aeris stepped backwards out of Barret's enthusiastic greeting, turning to give Cloud a proper hug. Suddenly there was a flash and the three were gone, replaced by three very strangely dressed people.

"I knew messing with the time-space continuum would have bizarre repercussions," Red XIII stated, "but they didn't listen to me."


	3. A Plan Unfolds

As Odine finished his statement three oddly dressed people stepped out of the time machine looking quite confused. They had only a brief moment to take in their surroundings before Squall recovered from his shock and demanded to know who they were. Irvine went one step further and accused them of kidnapping Rinoa, Selphie and Zell.

Quistis interrupted to head off any violence. "I'm sorry, but your appearance happens to coincide with the disappearance of our friends. I don't suppose you know where they are?" The strangers shook their heads. Quistis saw the look that flickered between the girl in pink and the man with blond hair but ignored it. Irvine, unusually perceptive in this case, chose not to ignore it.

"Tell me where they are!" he demanded, pulling out his gun and pointing it at the girl in pink. The other man immediately defended her, jumping in front and reaching behind him, clearly forgetting that he wasn't wearing a weapon. Nonetheless he faced up to Irvine, a remarkable feat for a man only an inch taller than Quistis herself.

It was Squall who first noticed something odd about this man. "Your eyes… they're glowing…"

This prompted Odine into action for the first time since the visitors had arrived. "Glowing eyes? Zis remindz me ov an experiment done zousands ov years ago… let me find my notes… aha! The substance known as Mako, found only in one cave on zis planet, injected into the elite SOLDIER of the corporation Shinra, often resulted in glowing eyes. But… zere has been no Shinra for zree zousand years!"

Silence greeted this statement. Finally the girl in pink spoke up. "There has been no Shinra for three thousand years… but that must mean… Cloud, you were…" she tailed off.

"I think, Dr Odine, that you have some explaining to do," Squall said pointedly. "Not least because you were seen only three weeks ago at the SpaceStation and left with a truck. Say, one big enough to hold something the size of that time machine over there."

Odine looked as though he was about to refute this statement when Irvine glowered at him, still holding his gun. "Okay. Ve have been excavating the planet next to ours for some time. You know zat, yes? Good. Ze time machine was found, vich ve have taken as evidence that intelligent life once lived zere. Ve did indeed find human remains, several cities, and somezing that could be related to the Moomba and Shumi. Records show zat somezing vas coming, somezing serious enough for zem to move zeir race to anuzzer planet. Zat is all ve know."

"So… you were injected with this Mako stuff?" Quistis asked Cloud.

"Yeah… but Shinra's experiments stopped a few years ago. I'm the only Mako-enhanced person alive now."

"Zen you must be…" Odine scanned the paper. "Cloud Strife!"

"Yes, he is," Yuffie spoke for the first time. "But what does that have to do with how we got here, and more importantly, how we're getting back?"

"As far as I can tell, zis time machine is one built by a Lord Godo Kisaragi. The materials used to make the machine are unknown, but ve are vorking on it."

Yuffie's eyes had widened in shock. "You mean… that this is MY time machine… around three thousand years into the future?"

"You are Lord Godo?" Odine asked, surprised that the small girl could be THE Lord Godo.

"I'm his daughter, Yuffie."

"Vell then, I zink that as a direct consequence of someone playing vith time, you have come here and ze uzzers have gone zere. Your vorld, your time, your planet."

"Thank God we equipped this thing with a telephone," was all Yuffie commented as she stepped inside the machine once again and began pushing buttons. They were soon connected to the other end.


	4. A Phone Call

Tifa stared at the girl standing where Aeris had been mere seconds before. No one moved for what seemed like an age. Even Cid seemed speechless, his cigarette dropping out of his mouth on to his placemat. Barret shattered the glass he was holding, sending wine and glass shards in all directions. Everyone instinctively ducked, and finally they felt able to speak.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" Godo wanted to know.

"Where are we?" asked the three standing in front of them. Tifa thought she'd better take the initiative and so introduced herself.

"My name is Tifa Lockhart, and you're in the Pagoda belonging to Lord Godo Kisaragi of Wutai. Who are you and where do you come from?"

The taller girl spoke first. "My name is Rinoa Heartilly, and I come from Deling City. This is Selphie Tilmitt, an exchange student from Trabia Garden to Balamb Garden, and Zell Dincht, a SeeD from Balamb Garden."

Tifa saw Barret signalling her out of the corner of her eye, and turned back to the three. "Excuse me for a moment, please." The other girl nodded and Tifa rejoined those at the table.

"They're freakin' nuts!" Barret exclaimed in a whisper. "Seeds? Gardens? Next thing you know we'll be hearin' about the Great Big Plant in the Sky!"

"Give them a chance, Barret," Red XIII interjected calmly. "It's only natural that they're disorientated. They've been pulled out of their time into ours – of course they're confused."

"Hmph," was all Barret said in response.

Tifa looked up at the three who were also exchanging hasty whispers. Godo offered them a drink, which they gratefully accepted.

"I think we should find out more about their time," Reeve said. Tifa couldn't help noticing that he seemed to be making a point of not looking at the short girl. She was rather pretty, Tifa saw that immediately. She had sparkling emerald eyes, short flicky chestnut hair, a smile and a bounce in her petite frame, and pale skin dotted with freckles. Tifa had no more time to ponder this thought, though, because a ringing had interrupted all speech. Everyone looked round in confusion, including Godo. Finally something clicked in his eyes and he moved inside the time machine, pressing a button. Yuffie's face appeared on a screen in front of him.

"Yuffie!" Godo exclaimed. "Where are you? Are you all right? Are the others with you?"

"Yes, father, they're all here. We're in the future I think." Her face grew distant for a moment and her eyes flickered with fear. Zell thought she was beautiful in her vulnerability. "Is everyone else there?"

"We're here, along with people named Zell, Selphie and Rinoa. Does that sound familiar to the other people at your end?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah, that sounds like them." Tifa thought she heard whooping in the background. "See, the thing is… the doctor here thinks that we should only make on more transition. This world here looks so cool, and we don't really feel like leaving. So we thought maybe if you just send the others back… we can keep in touch using this, I promise…"

Tifa interrupted Yuffie's rambling. "Leave you there by yourself? Hardly. I'll take two others with me and we'll all come through. Sound good to you?"

"Cool. See you this end. Oh, by the way, apparently at some point in the future the entire race has to relocate to another planet. Might want to start working on that now. Maybe that was the purpose of this whole paradox thing. I think Red at least should stay that end, though. He founds an entire race by himself."

"Where are you getting all this stuff?" Tifa asked curiously.

"The doctor told us. He's excavating a planet next to this one and Tifa, I think it's ours. They're so alike… but they figure that the people must have moved here, because their history starts when ours stops."

"Okay. Well, we'll be through shortly." Yuffie clicked off and Tifa turned back to the others. "So… who wants to do what?"

"I'd better stay here. Ain't a man in the world can fly and create a rocket ship as good as I can," Cid said. "And if I'm stayin', Shera's stayin' with me."

"Someone has to look after Marlene," Barret responded. "And I've got a city to fund." Tifa said nothing about the fact that she thought him and Elmyra had something going on, but simply smiled.

"If I have a race to found, then by all means I should stay." Red XIII was as succinct and intelligent as usual.

"I'll come," Reeve volunteered. Tifa wondered if this had anything to do with the looks he'd been giving the short girl – Selphie.

"I suppose that leaves me as your other person, Tifa," Vincent remarked dryly. Rinoa blushed faintly – she'd rather hoped that this mysterious man would be joining them.

Tifa hugged Cid, Barret and Red XIII, shook hands with Godo, and entered the time machine. The others joined her after saying their farewells and they travelled to the time where their friends were waiting for them.


	5. Introductions

Only moments after Yuffie had hung up the phone there was another flash and six people came through the machine. She gratefully recognised Tifa, Reeve and Vincent, jumping up and down before giving them each a brief hug. Squall stepped forwards and nodded to them. Vincent met his eyes and also nodded; they already understood each other.

"My name is Squall Leonhart. This is Quistis Trepe and Irvine Kinneas."

"Vincent Valentine," Vincent responded in his usual dry tone, "with Tifa Lockhart and Reeve Tuesti. Are these your friends?"

The look on Selphie's face said everything. "Of course we are! Although we still need to know if those there are YOUR friends."

"Well, duh!" Yuffie rebounded. "Yuffie Kisaragi, ninja and heir to Wutai. And who might you be?"

"Well, I MIGHT be Ultimecia," Selphie joked, but it was lost on them. "You see, Ultimecia was… oh, never mind. Selphie Tilmitt, SeeD."

"Excuse me… seed?" Tifa asked. She hadn't had the chance to question them properly earlier. Squall's eyebrow flickered but he betrayed no other movement.

"SeeD. An elite mercenary group, trained to fight Sorceresses and available for hire. There are three Gardens – one in Trabia, one in Galbadia, and one in Balamb. I am the Commander of Balamb Garden, the only Commander at all as it happens. Quistis is an instructor." She smiled so that they knew which one she was. "Selphie organises the Garden Festival, and Irvine is a sharpshooter."

"Sharpshooter extraordinaire, actually," Irvine interrupted.

"Yeah, with an eye for the ladies to boot," Selphie snorted. Irvine glared at her but this only made her laugh more. Squall gave them a pointed look and continued.

"We are currently in Esthar, the laboratory of Doctor Odine. Rinoa Heartilly there is the secretary of the Balamb Garden Headmaster Cid. Zell teaches fighting arts and is a SeeD just like us." It was a moment before anyone realised that Squall had finished talking. Cloud stepped in to cover the moment.

"I'm Cloud Strife, ex-SOLDIER and member of AVALANCHE along with everyone here apart from Reeve." Reeve coughed delicately.

"I was there as Cait Sith, a robotic Moogle, but I still worked for Shinra on the outside," he explained.

"Well, this is all very well and good, but we can't let them wander around looking like THAT," Selphie protested. Tifa was about to retaliate but remembered that apart from Aeris, they were all in eveningwear. "You in pink – you're the only vaguely normal one."

"Aeris. Aeris Gainsborough, actually," Aeris replied, somewhat indignantly.

"Whatever," Selphie brushed off the comment. "My point still stands."

"I agree with Selphie," Quistis said. "We need to get you some normal clothes."


	6. Of Boys and Girls

After the girls had left to go shopping, the boys weren't quite sure what to do. Squall took charge of the situation, assuming it was his responsibility. He took them back to the Presidential Palace and offered them somewhere to eat and sit down. Once they were all settled with a glass of wine, Irvine struck up a conversation close to his heart.

"So… that Tifa, she's pretty hot, isn't she?" Irvine casually said, sipping his wine. Cloud raised his eyebrow.

"Not really my type…" Cloud replied, slightly uncomfortable. The topic seemed to be turning to girls and he didn't really want to share his preferences. Especially if she liked someone else.

"So you don't mind if I take a shot at her, then?" Irvine questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Go for it. Like I said, not my type. Then again, you might not be hers," Cloud put his fear on someone else.

"Not a problem. So you've got your eye on one of the other two, then?"

"Aeris or Yuffie? No way. We're all too good friends to be anything other than that," he replied.

"What's wrong with Aeris?" asked Squall, feeling slightly defensive of the girl.

"Nothing; it's just like I said, too good friends. We went on one date years ago and nothing came of it then. Nothing's changed since, so you've got nothing to worry about." Cloud smirked slightly at Squall's faint blush.

"Well Quistis is free too, so I'm sure you'll have a dandy time." Cloud looked a bit shocked at the accusation Squall had made, but then relaxed.

"Sure thing," Cloud answered, sipping his wine and effectively withdrawing from the conversation. Squall also withdrew, not wanting any further part in the discussion that was unfolding.

"So, Reeve is it?" Irvine asked, nodding in Reeve's direction. Reeve gave a brief yes and allowed Irvine to continue. "I noticed you had your eye on our little girl in yellow."

"Well, not really…" Reeve trailed off as he recalled the way that Selphie's dress had clung to her petite form, how her eyes had sparkled with life when returned to her home, how her hair bobbed when she turned her head. He realised that Irvine was saying something in a sarcastic tone that seemed to be along the lines of "Suuure you don't." However, he simply shrugged and gave a secretive smile.

"How about you, Vincent?" Irvine queried, looking in the direction of the dark-haired man. Vincent gave him a look that said "None of your business" and Irvine knew he'd not get anything out of him. He didn't bother asking Zell; he'd noticed the shorter man looking at the shortest new girl. He ran the list through in his head and realised that only left Rinoa for Vincent. He looked over at him again; the question in his eyes, but Vincent simply smiled a tiny little smile that spoke volumes to Irvine's trained eye.


	7. Shopping Spree

Selphie wasted no time in withdrawing a large amount of money from the bank accounts belonging to herself, Rinoa and Quistis. They all earned a lot of Gil, much of which was put away for retirement. However, even with all their retirement stocked up, they had a lot to spare.

Once that was done, she headed back over to where the others were waiting. The new girls had been squeezed into clothes that either didn't suit or didn't fit – Tifa was wearing a pair of Rinoa's shorts with one of Quistis' peach shirts, doing up as many buttons as she could. Yuffie was wearing one of Selphie's white t-shirts with brown shorts. Aeris was the only one who'd been allowed to keep the clothes she was wearing on.

They walked in to one of the shops. Rinoa lead the way, deciding to dress them from the underwear up. Tifa's eyes nearly popped out at the sight of the padded bra. She picked one up and looked at Rinoa inquisitively. "Do people actually WEAR these?"

"Yeah, some people do. I've got one at home just in case I should need it."

"I can't imagine why anyone would need one, but it wouldn't be pretty if I tried it." Tifa put the bra back down.

"That's perfectly understandable. Selphie likes them and her Wonderbras, but you and I don't really need them." Ignoring the dig at Selphie, Tifa asked Rinoa how she could get measured and have one that fitted properly. Rinoa directed her to the changing rooms, finding Yuffie and Aeris already in the middle of fittings.

"I used to blush whenever I was around him," Quistis was confiding in Aeris. "My feelings have changed since, but I don't think he even noticed them in the first place. Not much of a one for emotion."

"Really?" Aeris asked. "He seems open and honest to me."

"Honest most definitely, but Squall's as close-mouthed as they come if you get on to the subject of feelings. I don't think he trusts them. He's always tried to be entirely independent," Quistis informed the other girl.

"Well, we'll have to change that," Aeris decided. Quistis laughed; despite no longer having feelings for him, watching Squall was a habit for her, and she'd seen his almost naked longing for the sweet girl standing right in front of her. Aeris' statement had just confirmed her suspicions.

They soon managed to get the others properly kitted out. Yuffie was clad in a dark green t-shirt, long creamy lace-up boots and shorts of the same colour. Rinoa looked as good as usual in a white shirt and knee-length skirt. Quistis accented her bosom with a low v-necked pale green top and regular jeans with her usual boots. Tifa had opted for a plain black dress with white stitching that flared below the waist, topped with black peep-toe sandals. Aeris ventured out of pink and gone instead for a polo shirt the same colour as her eyes and denim ¾ length jeans, with white sandals. Selphie was dressed in her trademark yellow, in the form of a strappy top and short skirt, with her usual brown boots. Once dressed to standard, they returned to the Presidential Palace and were directed to the boys.


End file.
